Drier



C. E. [VES Nov. 5, 1940.

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DRIER Filed Jari. 2, 1937 s sheets-sheet 2 Clyjordfes Nov. 5, 1940.l

c. E. lvEsY 2,220,522

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XM M Patented Nov. 5, 1940 4UNITED STATES DRIER Clifford E. Ives, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Sears, Roebuck and Oo., Chicago, IIL, a corporation of New York Application January 2. 1937, serial No. 112,879

4 claims. (ci. 34-12) My invention relates to driers and is especially adapted for the drying and curing of textile articles which have been impregnated with a plastic material such as latex or thelike. Thus, for example, driers embodying my invention are especially suitable for the drying and curingv of goods of the type described in Wann copending application Serial N'o. 87,868, led June 29, 1936, and coated on a machine of the type set forth 'x0 in my copending application, Serial No. 172,937,

led November 5, 1937.

An object of my invention is to provide a continuous oven which will receive articles tobe i dried and which will automatically convey said |5 articles through the oven at a predetermined rate of speed so that when said articles are discharged from the oven they will be substantially dry and cured. i A further object is to provide such an oven with ."J means for controlling air circulation through the -various portions thereof.

Another object is to provide a device of the type referred to which will be simple in construction, eicient in operation, inexpensive to manufac- 25 ture and to operate, of easy access for cleaning and repair, and generally satisfactory for the purposes desired.

Various other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description. proceeds.

30 Referring now to the drawings forming part of this' specication and illustrating a preferred em`.

bodiment of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a drier embodying my invention, parts being broken away to show :15 the interior construction thereof;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same; Fig. 3 is an end elevational view thereof taken from the left-hand end of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially 40 along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional -view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; Y 4,-, Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 1-1 of Fig. 5; e,

rig. a is a. sectional view taken sbs'tanuauy l along the line 3 8 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially :'.o Valong the line 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10.is a sectional view taken substantially along the line III- I9 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line of Fig.4; and 55 Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view, partly in elevation, taken substantially along the line I2--I2 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a sectional view along line |3|3 of Fig. 10, and

Fig. 14 is a sectional view along line |4|4\ of 5 Fig. 10.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the drier embodying my invention comprises a casing indicated generally by the numeral I0, said casing being preferably in the form of anl elongatedA rectangular parallelopiped having double walls throughout. Thus, the cabinet l0 comprises side walls I3, I3, a bottom wall I4, a top wall I5, and end walls |6- and All of these walls may be substantially similar in construcf 15 tion, preferably comprising. spaced sheet metal members I9, I9, the space between these members being lled with insulating material ksuch as rock wool or the vlike and the walls being reinforced as by beams 2|. To reduce cost of con- 20 struction, the outer members I9 may be made of plywood or other inexpensive sheet material.

Extending longitudinally of the oven on opposite sides thereof are air chambers 23,` 23', said chambers extending substantially from top 25 to bottom of the casing I0. Y Said air chambers 23 are separated fromy that portion of the oven which carries the goods to be dried by means of walls 25 and disposed insaid walls 25 at regular intervals are hinged dampers 26 and 26' manually 30 controlled, as by rods 21, said rods extending through apertures in the upper wallof the casing,

as at 29. A ,n

'Ihe space between the longitudinal air chambers 23, which space may be referred to generally as a drying lcompartment 3|, is provided with a plurality of bailles 32, 32', said baiiies being secured respectively by means of brackets 33 to beams 35 extending at intervals across the top of the compartment 3|. The bailles 32 and'32' 40 may be formed conveniently of sheet metal, such as galvanized iron or the like, and, as seen clearly in Fig. 4, extend alternately' from the top and bottom of the compartment, the baiiies 32 leaving an opening thereabove while the bailles 32' pro- 45 vide passages therebelow. thus requiring the air which enters the drying compartment 3| through the dampers 26 to travel in a tortuous path above and below the baiiles.

'I'he drying compartment 3| is preferably closed at the top by means of hatch covers 31, said covers being preferably doublewalled and insulated like the walls ofthe oven and provided with handles 38,. whereby the hatch covers may be completely removed to permit access to the interior of the oven.

'I'he material to be dried is preferably carried by a conveyor belt 40. -This belt may be formed of any suitable material, but I have -found that the best material for my purpose is a tape formed of a high quality of spring steel. This material,

. by reason of its temper, will stand the relatively high temperatures of the oven without losing its resilience and without becoming appreciably brittle. I-Ience, loss of time due to shutdowns is substantially minimized by the use of such material.

'I'he conveyor belt or tape 40 is actuated by means of a motor 4| which operates through pulleys or sprocket wheels 42, said pulleys or sprocket wheels being carried on shafts 43 which are suitably journaled in the oor of the drying compartment 3| and carry drums 45 formed of sheet metall or other suitable material.'y

The conveyor belt or tape 40 enters the drying compartment, as shown best in Fig. 9 through an opening-46 closed by a pair of resilient inwardly extending winds 41 formed of sheet metal or the like, whereby loss of hot air from the oven is substantially prevented. The conveyor leaves the vdrying compartment through an exit opening 8 closed by similar outwardly extending wings 49. The conveyor is trained over pulleys 50 at the open end of the oven. A

Throughout the length of the' drying chamber 3| the conveyor 40 is carried by means of channel shaped guides 52 (Figs. ll-l2) secured as by welding or soldering to the top or cross flange of 'I1-members 53, a T-member 53 extending the entire length of the drying chamber 3| for each run of the conveyor 40. Said T-members are supported by uprights 54 which may be strap iron or the like, the latter being secured to 'the floor of the drying chamber'as at 55, the T-members being secured to said uprights as by rivets 56 or the like. The junctions between 'the T-members and-uprights are braced by means of a triangular sheet metal gusset 51. These members 51, which may be formed of galvanized `iron or the like, preferably extend forwardly of each of the uprights 54 as seen best in Fig. 11I and serve to divide the fabric sections as they approach to prevent possible jamming thereof against the upright.

Secured on opposite sides-of the T-members (Fig. 12) as by rivets 53, are longitudinal sheet strips 58, 53, for the purpose of guiding the fab ric sections past the uprights 54. These strips 53 have a tapered lower edge 53 at the leading end of each run of the conveyor. (See Fig. 10.) I also provide at the leadingend of each run an approximately cylindrical notched divider 60 secured to the top flange of the T-bars 53. (Figs. 13 and 14.) The Iconveyor tape is trained around the cylinders 45 at the closed end of the oven and around similar vertically journaled cylinders 3| at the open end, i. e., the receiving and mdischarging end, where said tape changes direction.

Any suitable means may be provided for cir- Yculating hot air through the oven for drying and curing the material which is conveyed therethrough. vIn the embodiment shown, a U-shaped duct 62 conducts a current of air from the top of the oven, at a 'point' intermediate the length thereof, approximately adjacent the middle, to a heating chamber 63 which is warmed by any suitable means, preferably by an oil burner. The burner is operated by means of va motor i4. From the heating chamber' the air P68865 through la duct 61 in which is interposed a blower 68 operated by a motor 69. The air which has been heated reentersthe oven through the ared member 1|)v to be recirculated within the oven, again passing out of the oven into the U-shaped duct 62. Excess gas may be exhausted through the duct 13. l

The operation of the device will be readily apparent. The material which is to be dried and/or cured, for example, latex coatedor impregnated garment sections, enters the oven on the conveyor 40 through the opening 46 and is conveyed throughthe oven by the conveyor tape, making several runs or courses through the length of the oven, the total course of travel through the oven and the speed of the conveyor being so coordinated that the goods will be thoroughly dried and cured by the time it is discharged by the conveyor through the opening 43.

As the material travels through the oven it will be impinged upon by transversely traveling cur- 4rents of hot air. The air which is admitted to the oven through the flared member 10 travels along the channels 23, escaping into the compartment 3|. through the dampers 26, and thereafter traveling across the oven in a tortuous path, passing above the bailles 32 and under the baffles 32', finally escaping through dampers 26' into the channel 23 on the opposite side of the oven'into the U-shaped conduit 62.

In the curing of rubber, it is highly advantageous to heat ,in the presence of steam. According to my invention, the recirculation of heating gas permits the retaining of moisture which has been given off from the goods, in the form of steam, since the interior of the oven is normally kept at a temperature above 212 F., at atmospheric pressure. The use of a recirculating oven is also advantageous inasmuch=as heat is thereby conserved. Y

Various changes coming within the spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and hence I do not wish to be limited to the specific forms shown or uses mentioned except to the extent indicated in the appended claims, Vwhich are to be interpreted as broadly as the state .of *theart permits.

I claim:

1. In combination with means providing an elongated chamber and means for circulating a current of heated air through said chamber, a conveyor comprising a exible tape mounted for travel longitudinally within said chamber, means for reversing the direction of travel of said tape; said reversing means comprising a vertical journaled cylinder around which said tape is trained, and means independent of said cylinder for supporting said tape.

2. A multi-directional apparatus for treating fabric and ,other flexible sheet material, comprising a metal tape, smooth-surfaced cylindrical 'means rotatably mounted and about which said tape is trained 'flatwise, and means cooperatingwith said cylindrical means in maintaining said. tape longitudinally at a substantial angle to the vertical to prevent the material folded on and depending on opposite sides from the top of said tape from slipping therealcng, the second means fording a tortuous path, said cylindrical means 7 and tape being mounted and arranged so that said tape travels transversely through said path, and means for supplying said chamber with a material-treating medium to which said material is subjected during its travel therein.

3. A multi-directional conveyor for fabric and other flexible sheet material, comprising a metal tape, smooth-surfaced cylindrical means rotatably mounted and about which said tape is trained atwise, means cooperating with said cylindrical means in maintaining said tape longitudinally at a substantial angle to the vertical to prevent the material folded 'on and depending on opposite sides from the top of said tape from slipping therealong, the second means being operative to maintain said tape substantially vertical ilatwise, said tape being yieldable adjacent said cylindrical means so that a suspended side of said material will pass atwise between a face of said tape and said cylindrical means.

4'. A material-treating apparatus comprising a chamber having a oor and a ceilingand two sets of parallel vertical walls, those of one set alternating with those of the other set, those of one set extending upward short of the ceiling and those of the otherv set extending ldownward short of the door and in overlapping relation to those of the first set, an end of each wall of one set terminating short of the chamber wall toward which said ends extend, and an end of each wall of the other set terminating short of the opposite chamber wall toward which the last mentioned ends extend, whereby two intersecting tortuous paths are afforded in substantially the same space of said chamber, means for forcing a material-treating medium along one of said paths and means for moving a material to be treated along the other path.

- CLIFFORD E. IVES. 

